by Scott Howard | May 14, 2017 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
Everyone has their favorite stories about their Mom for Mother’s Day and Dad for Father’s Day that they will share on Facebook.
I want to do a couple of things differently.
My parent’s love story is summed up in what happened in 1998 on Mother’s Day weekend.
My parents met in the 1950’s when he was in the Navy and she was living at home near Chicago. My Mom and her friends would take the train to Navy Pier on the weekend and meet some sailors. One time she met my Dad and they married with a “till death do us part” line in their vows I suppose.
I didn’t come into this world until my Mom was 26 and Dad was 29. I was blessed to see the fun and struggles and there’s plenty to tell but today I’m going to fast forward to Mother’s Day weekend 1998.
My Dad had been diagnosed with cancer a few months earlier and now was in hospice care. My Dad always would grumble about Mother’s Day and Father’s Day being “merchant holidays” but he also knew how important those days were to his wife. A rose or a dozen would always be included with a romantic card. But in 1998 it was going to be different.
I was living about an hour away but came to see my Dad that weekend. His cancer should have ended his life by now but he was still with us even though he was unable to speak.
We communicated by my talking to him and him signally his answers. On Saturday I bought a rose & Mother’s Day card and helped him sign it so that when my Mom visited Sunday, the tradition continued.
Monday, the day after Mother’s Day 1998, we got a call that he passed away, quietly when no one was in his room. It was if he waited. Waited to give my Mom one last Mother’s Day card and rose and then waited until no one was in his room the next day to leave this planet.
That’s a dedication of,”Till Death Do Us Part”.
No matter what you think of Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day, celebrate it the way the Mom’s and Dad’s in your life want to remember it.
by Scott Howard | Feb 12, 2017 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
Sunday morning, the sun is shining through the coffee shop window and the usual suspects are here, including me.
There are the families with little ones that are learning to walk and talk.
The gang that racks their brain over the crossword puzzle in the paper.
The older guys talking politics, not just national stuff but local stuff too.
Some of us are on our laptops, taking it all in.
What’s really going on here is the dynamics of human relationships. There is nothing particularly special about this day, or place. Similar stuff is going on all over. It could be in churches, it could be at home, it could be at a park.
The “It” is the love. It’s that mystery that separates us from the machines. Sure I can type a heart in response to a Facebook post, but that’s just a symbol. The love is human to human. And not just romantic love…
It’s between friends, it’s between family and it’s the strongest type of human relationship possible.
Saturday, I got word that my last Uncle had passed away. Uncle Bill outlived his sister (my Mom), his wife, and his oldest daughter. He was the last of the Uncles in my life and I have one Aunt still alive but she has been secluded for a decade after her husband passed away.
I recall that after my Dad passed away in 1998, my Mom carried on for three more years but there was a profound sadness and grief in losing her partner.
Love is a mystery and it is sought after.
With Valentines Day this week, don’t be the jerk that ignores it. Even if you are not mushy and sentimental, the person you are thinking about right now, probably is.
I’ve been single, I’ve been married, I’ve been divorced, I’ve been (and am) married again. I have kids, step-kids, grandkids of all ages, sizes and shapes. I’ve been there, done that and have the t-shirt. I have friends and acquaintances that are in one of the stages I just mentioned. I understand.
If you’re looking for love, start with friendships. Start with yourself. Hang around other friendly folks.
The gang I mentioned at the beginning of this piece, at the coffee shop, didn’t meet each other and become friends due to some dating app or Facebook algorithm that told them to show up at 9am on Sunday. It was simply an organic and evolving series of human relationships. Shared with a beverage and a bite to eat.
In a couple of hours, I am going to meet a bunch of strangers to play cards at an event that I know very little about, but the common theme is Euchre.
Keep your eyes open to opportunities to be around people and make a point to be friendly. Everyone could probably use one more friend.
This has been a bit of a rambling article today about love and relationships and Valentines Day and even death. I’m not sure exactly how to wrap it up with a bow, so I won’t.
However I am planning on a new article later this week on advertising, marketing , technology and human relationships that you might love…
by Scott Howard | Nov 3, 2015 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
My Dad passed away in 1998, the day after Mother’s Day. People commented at the funeral that he was young. He was 67 and it really didn’t strike me as young.
But today would have been his 85th Birthday and I know a few folks who are around that age and I wonder.
Wonder what he would be like if cancer had not taken him.
Wonder what he would still remember if his memory hadn’t started failing a few years before he passed away.
Of the two parents I had, I was closer to my Dad and so when his birthday rolls around I remember. My Mom died 3 years later at age 68 and one year recently on the day of her birth, I forgot until it was nearly over.
Cherish your parents, tell them you love them and parents, do the same with your kids and grandkids.
by Scott Howard | Jul 4, 2015 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
I wrote these words on Wednesday night, the first of July but saved them for the weekend.
We have wrapped up 6 months of 2015 with less than 6 months until 2016 and all around me the world is changing.
I’m not talking about the political world, cultural world or any of those things that we are all exposed to.
I’m thinking about the lives of friends and family. Changes that were not expected when we welcomed the New Year, 6 short months ago.
Due to the connected world we live in with the internet, there are relatives that I have not seen in ages that I’ve reconnected with. And some of them have had some tremendous changes.
On my Mom’s side of the family is her older brother, my Uncle Bill. He is the only living Uncle I have left. 5 months ago my cousin Susan’s life ended due to cancer. Shortly after, it was discovered that Aunt Maria also had cancer and soon she was gone too. Susan left behind a husband and two adult kids. Uncle Bill and Aunt Maria also have two other daughters Julie and Karla who with their husbands are missing the ability to talk to their Mom or sister.
My wife Kathy and I were both married previously and had our kids with our 1st spouses. This spring we got word that Kathy’s first husband died suddenly. Dwight and I became friends when Kathy and I were dating. His funeral was the last one I’ve been to. My step-kids, Ian and Abby lost their dad this spring.
In the past few days another cousin, Brenda from my Dad’s side of the family buried her oldest son, Sam. Brenda is married to a Scott and they have another son Ben too. She has gone thru the cancer journey herself and is doing well on that front. What struck me when I heard the news from Brenda of her son’s passing was an incident that occurred in the 1970’s.
Brenda had a brother Steve who died in a car accident. The funeral for Steve was the first funeral I attended and about might be one of the last times I saw her face to face even though I saw her parents a few times later in life.
One more passing of note. We have a couple of good friends, Bob & Sherrie. I’ve known them for 15 years because they were my wife’s friends. Sherrie and my wife have known each other since college days. They had to put their dog down this past week. As many of us who have pets, they become a part of the family too. And when their lives end, we grieve.
While all of this sounds like a list of losses, and it is for those who are missing their loved ones, their are other changes that we were not expecting including my son and his wife starting a new chapter in South Carolina with a wonderful career opportunity for her and lots of promising employment opportunities for Josh and what looks like a fantastic place to live. That was May.
A month later, we are saying good bye for now to my daughter Rachael and her husband and two little ones. They too are starting a new chapter in a beautiful part of the country in the opposite direction, Colorado.
There are other family members who are in the midst of changes too and we keep each and every one in our hearts, minds and prayers.
Thank goodness for free long distance, the connectivity of social media and the internet to help us communicate over the miles.
This weekend, the 4th of July weekend, the weekend we as a country celebrate and the founding of the United States back in 1776 with the signing of the Declaration of Independence from England, this is a weekend that is also filled with lots and lots of reflections as people all around you are adjusting to what ever changes have taken place in their lives this year.
May you cherish the relationships and celebrate safely as we move forward with the next 6 months of 2015.
by Scott Howard | Jun 19, 2015 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I would update my series on Advertising with WOWO Radio that I first shared in February. It’s coming, I assure you.
However this month I have been writing articles that delve into the personal side more frequently. That’s fine, I have no one to answer to when it comes to what I write, publish or when. The “editorial calendar” for this website/blog is in my head. So be patient and I’ll start that series next week. 
Recently I have had a couple of my adult kids move out of state and I’ve mentioned this as a part of spreading wings. I am also connecting with people from my past (and present) online and last year found an old childhood friend who was influential in my early teens in developing an interest in radio broadcasting. Dave was more of an engineer kind of guy, while I was interested in being a radio personality, which is how I began my venture into broadcasting.
Dave sent me a brief note on LinkedIN asking how things were going. Now I have not seen or spoken with Dave in decades. We are both in our 50’s now and so it has been 30+ years probably since we saw each other. But that is part of the magic of this internet connected world.
Dave is in California and works in cyber security and related stuff. When I told him about my kids moving out of state and stuff, his reply, “You are a lucky man.”
It’s that kind of perspective that we sometimes need.
When we are feeling a little down or have mixed emotions about events, there are others who see what we have instead of what we don’t have and can show us our blessings with a few simple words.
Thanks Dave.
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